Hardik Patel, former Gujarat Congress working president, to join BJP on June 2

Follow us on

Hardik Patel to join BJP: Former Gujarat Congress working president and Patidar leader Hardik Patel will join the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on June 2. Patel's decision to join the BJP days after quitting the Congress assumes significance as it comes just ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls. The western state is slated to go to the polls by the end of this year. 

Speculations were rife about Patel joining the BJP or Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ever since he jumped the Congress ship on May 18. The 28-year-old politician in his parting note blamed the Congress leadership for not being serious about the polls. 

"It is confirmed that Hardik Patel will join the BJP on June 2 in the presence of state president C R Paatil," BJP's state spokesperson Yagnesh Dave said.

Hardik Patel came into the limelight after he led the Patidar quota stir in 2015. Hardik joined the Congress in 2019 despite his public promise of not entering politics. He was appointed as the working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) in July 2020.

Patel after resigning from Congress alleged that the grand old party has no vision for the state where it is out of power since 1995. He said that top leaders of the party were distracted by their mobile phones and that they were more interested in arranging chicken sandwiches during Rahul Gandhi's recent visit to launch the party's election campaign. 

The ruling BJP is hopeful that the entry of Patel, once a staunch critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, will bolster its position in the state where it has won every election held since 1995. 

The Patidars constitute over one-sixth of Gujarat's population of 6.5 crores. Securing the votes of Patidars is crucial for any political party to win the polls as a shift in their stand can swing the result. 

Also Read: 'You can't abuse Adani or Ambani every time': Hardik Patel attacks Congress